US Electoral System
(Избирательная система США)

Powers:

The United States is a republic, which means that the people hold the power and they elect representatives to decide what to do with it. It is also a federal country, meaning that powers are divided between central government and those in the individual states. Although these powers have changed over time, the US constitution originally only gave certain powers to the federal government. Many government services [службы] are still the responsibility of state governments. Each state elects a governor and politicians to sit in the Senate and House of Representatives - the two chambers of the legislature. Federal power is divided into three separate branches of government - the president and his cabinet (the Executive), the two chambers of the US Congress (the Legislature) and the courts (Judiciary).

Elections:

The United States holds elections every two years. Once every four years there is a presidential election, with congressional elections held at the same time. Mid-term elections [выборы, не совпадающие с президентскими выборами и выборами в конгресс] take place in-between presidential elections, in the middle of the presidential term. Elections for the House of Representatives are held every two years. Senators have six-year terms, with one-third elected every two years. State governors serve four-year terms with about half up for election every two years.

Primaries (праймериз (предварительные выборы) (Этап президентских выборов, позволяющий определить ведущих претендентов на президентский пост от основных политических партий. В той или иной форме праймериз проводятся в абсолютном большинстве штатов США с февраля по июнь года президентских выборов)):

Voters also get to choose their party's candidate in the main election. Voters register which party they support, and can then participate in primary elections. Before he became the Republican candidate for president in 2000, George W Bush had to beat Republican Senator John McCain in primary elections. Primaries are sometimes quite close to the general election, and once they are over, candidates must turn quickly to the general election.

Constitution:

America declared its independence from Britain in 1776. Eleven years later, the separate states joined together to form the United States. At Philadelphia in 1787, a convention attended by the most important men of the day produced a constitution. Unlike the UK, the US has a written constitution. It has four important principles: republicanism [республиканская система правления], federalism, the 'separation of powers', and 'checks and balances' (сдержки и противовесы (Принцип взаимозависимости и взаимоограничения трех ветвей государственной власти в США, основывающийся на положениях Конституции о разделении властей)).

President:

The president's main function is to enforce [обеспечивать соблюдение] the law, by running [управлять] the federal government. He also proposes laws and the annual budget to Congress, is commander-in-chief of the US armed forces, and is broadly responsible for foreign policy. He can also veto bills passed [to pass a bill - принять законопроект] in the Congress, although that veto can be overridden [overriden veto - преодолённое вето] if two-thirds of the Congress vote against it. The president is elected every four years, but cannot serve more than two terms. His cabinet members are not elected and are not normally members of Congress. They have to [должны] leave Congress to join the cabinet.

Congress:

The Congress is responsible for passing laws and the budget. It has two chambers - the Senate and the House of Representatives. The two chambers share the power to declare war, while the Senate must approve treaties agreed to by the president. Senators must also approve the appointment of judges and many government officials. Every state has two senators, but the number of members of the House depends on the population. For example, a state like Wyoming with a small population has two senators and just one member of the House, while a state like California with a huge population still has two senators, but 43 members of the House. In total there are 100 Senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives.

Judiciary:

The third part of government is the courts system - known as the Judiciary. The Supreme Court has nine judges who decide whether laws passed are in line with [be in line with - точно следовать] the constitution. The judges are nominated [назначаются] by the president, and have to be approved by the Senate. They are extremely powerful positions. The judges are appointed for life, so a vacancy can only arise through the death, resignation, retirement [уход на пенсию], or impeachment of a judge.

Two-party system:

The US has a two-party system, which makes it very hard for anyone who is not a Democrat or a Republican to be elected. Almost everyone in Congress is a Democrat or Republican.

Caucus (pl. - caucuses) - a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement.

Кокус — в самом общем смысле слова можно определить как собрание сторонников или членов политической партии или политического движения. Наибольшее распространение кокусы получили в США и странах Британского содружества. В Америке это слово означает закрытое собрание какого-либо отдела политического или законодательного органа для того, чтобы выработать единый курс действий ко времени общего собрания. В Англии это оскорбительное название внутренней группировки, которая действует за спинами партийных лидеров. Слово, вероятно, индейского происхождения и связано со словом caucauasu, означающим «советник».

The United States Electoral College is the institution that elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. Citizens of the United States do not directly elect the president or the vice president; instead, these voters directly elect designated intermediaries called "electors," who almost always have pledged to vote for particular presidential and vice presidential candidates (though unpledged electors are possible) and who are themselves selected according to the particular laws of each state. Electors are apportioned to each of the 50 states as well as to the District of Columbia (also known as Washington, D.C.). The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of members of Congress to which the state is entitled,[1] while the Twenty-third Amendment grants the District of Columbia the same number of electors as the least populous state, currently three. Therefore, in total, there are currently 538 electors, corresponding to the 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 senators, plus the three additional electors from the District of Columbia.

Коллегия выборщиков в США — система непрямых (двуступенчатых) выборов, при помощи которой избираются президент США и вице-президент США — единственные два должностных лица Соединённых Штатов, избираемые по федеральному (охватывающему всю территорию страны) избирательному округу.